In the dyeing or printing of a textile substrate wherein a dyestuff is applied to the substrate from an aqueous medium it is desirable to achieve good wetting of the substrate surface with the dye-containing aqueous medium. Some textile materials are more resistant to wetting than others. Also, some dyeing and printing processes, particularly continuous processes, are carried out in a manner such that the substrate is not in contact with the dye-containing aqueous medium long enough for sufficient wetting to take place without the help of a wetting agent. Accordingly, it is common practice for dyers and printers to employ a wetting agent in an aqueous dyeing liquor or printing paste to reduce the time required for proper wetting to occur. The foregoing also holds true for processes wherein substances other than dyes, e.g. optical brightening agents or reserving agents, are applied to textile substrates from aqueous media. Among the wetting agents which have been used are dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, 2-ethylhexyl sulfate and ethoxylated alcohols and alkylphenols. However, there has continued to be a need for improvement in the wetting of textile substrates, especially in continuous textile treatment processes and more especially in such processes wherein the material being treated is one which is difficult to wet.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a textile treatment process which comprises contacting a textile substrate with an aqueous medium wherein improved wetting of the substrate with the aqueous medium is achieved.
It is another object of this invention to provide a composition which improves the ability of an aqueous medium to wet a textile substrate.